


Balance

by autumnsolstice9



Series: Justice [15]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-20 23:56:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18134120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autumnsolstice9/pseuds/autumnsolstice9
Summary: “If this is the sacrifice I must make, then it is what I shall do.”or: the end.





	Balance

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for following the journey :-)

“She’s dangerous,” Homura says, folding his hands into his lap. “She’s a threat to the peace in Konoha.”

“Yes,” Koharu agrees, “She revolted against her father and her clan. What will she do now that she is head of Hyuuga? Will she threaten the village? We must be rid of her.”

“We can’t,” Tsunade tells them, “We would have a riot. If we harm a hair on her head, the Aburame, Inuzuka, and Hyuuga will revolt. Our elite jonin adore the girl and the Konoha eleven support her.” It’s not like she wants to hurt the girl. No change has been made without a little treason, at least not in the case of ninja villages. 

“We cannot let her roam free!” Koharu says, voice raised, her knuckles tight white grip over the teacup she holds in her hand. Tsunade really can’t wait for the elders to die. Sometimes she really hates Hiruzen for letting these people become so powerful. When she dies and goes to the afterlife, she’s going to have some very choice words for her sensei.

But she’s Hokage, and must be diplomatic, so instead of telling them she hopes they fall off the Hokage mountain, she says, “Well, what do you suggest we do? We heard what people have to say about her. Hinata was intrinsic to the war. She is as much a threat as Naruto is.”

“Naruto can be controlled. As long as he dreams of being Hokage, he will be loyal. The Hyuuga girl does has shown that she will go against authority. She broke orders to leave the Hyuuga compound, she will break our orders,” Homura says, “We do not have to kill her, but we must do something. 

Tsunade wonders if, when Naruto becomes Hokage, he will find the record of this meeting. Will he understand that this is how the world works? Will he have grown to understand that there are no friends, only allies? Will he understand the balance between control and freedom that Hinata has disrupted? The girl is a child fixing her ancestors mistakes, the past Hokage’s mistakes, and because she has pointed out the error in their ways, something must be done.

She closes her eyes and rubs her temples for a moment. She knows what the council is asking for, what must be done to ensure that this rogue nin does not defy them once more. She wishes Hinata were born Uchiha, and that her safety could be certain because of the eyes she possesses. She opens her eyes and meets the steely gazes of the council, telling them her plan, and shuddering when they smile.

She’s tired of being Hokage. She needs a drink.

***

The day the announcement is made, the entire Hyuuga clan curses the Hokage name. Hinata herself stares blankly ahead, somewhere in the future only she can see, and thinks about the dream she had as a child. She wanted to be strong, to make the Hyuuga proud, to receive Naruto’s affection. She has it now, all of it, and she must pay the price.

Neji’s face is filled with rage and Hanabi’s eyes are filled with tears when Hinata steps out to face the crowd outside her walls. She is head of Hyuuga now, she has responsibility. She looks at the faces in the crowd, at the seals on their foreheads and the fury they hold for the order that has passed.

“It’s okay,” she says, a lie that makes her mouth taste acidic. The crowd shakes their heads, some with tears and some with anger, and Hinata lets them see her acceptance. “If this is the sacrifice I must make, then it is what I shall do.”

The very next day, she finds the scroll of sealing in the library of the former main branch. The day after that, she announces that she will begin the un-sealing process, working as quickly as she can to break the chains on her brethrens head, even when using so much chakra makes her dizzy. When she is done, weary and weak with exhaustion, her clan does not celebrate. They look at her, at the jagged scar running down her face, at the child who was thrust into adult games, and they bow. “Thank you, Hinata-hime,” they tell her.

She moves through the crowd, hugging relatives she barely knows but cares for all the same, a large smile on her face as she takes in the crowd of free Hyuuga. “I would do it again,” she says, voice wobbly with emotion, “I have no regrets.”

Neji calls out from the crowd. “What about anger at the injustice you will face?”

Her smile turns brittle. “I have plenty of anger, but it is nothing in comparison to the joy I feel now.”

“Then we will carry your anger for you,” he says, the crowd shouting their assent.

Hinata is tired and angry, but she is not alone. When escorts come to take her to the Hokage tower, she meets them calmly, her clan an army of rage behind her.

***

Tsunade smiles apologetically at her, but Hinata finds no comfort in it. Sakura stands somewhere behind the Hokage, her fists clenched, Naruto somewhere close, his anger palpable. She can see her team somewhere behind her with Kurenai, can hear Shino’s kikaichu and Akamaru’s snarls. 

She is going to be a public spectacle. A warning. Don’t leave the village, or else you will be like poor little Hinata Hyuuga. The clan head’s daughter, the heiress, the new clan head. If she can be punished, what about the rest of the village? Hinata is certain she will become a warning story parents tell their children and teachers tell their students. She wonders if Iruka-sensei will tell his students about her, if he is in the crowd watching. He used to heal her basic bruises from training, back when she was younger, and he always talked to her in a soft, soothing voice. Some days she dreamed he was her father. She remembers his yelling never being able to mask how much he truly cared for his class. She wonders if he is angry now, at her or for her, and wonders who will heal her once this ordeal is over.

The council stands behind Tsunade, their face blank, but Hinata can read the victory in their eyes. She hates them, what they did to her clan, the Uchiha, to Naruto and to everyone who was wronged by the village.

The Hyuuga in the crowd wear their perfectly honed blank masks, covering their emotions. Tsunade watches as Koharu steps forward, placing the palm of her hand on Hinata’s forehead. “Activate your byakugan,” she says, a note of glee in her voice.

Hinata does what is asked, screaming as the caged-bird seal is burned into her forehead. Her byakugan lets her see everything, and it hurts. It hurts more than any of her father’s training, more than the sword that scarred her, more than the chakra rods Pein pushed through her body, more than when she was dying on the battlefield. She can see her clan’s tightened fists, their clenched jaws, she can see every heartbeat but it swirls in her head as pain takes over her body. It’s like a needle pushed through every pore, like an explosion in her head, like a someone is peeling her apart layer by layer. She can see her own heartbeat, pumping erratically, can see the calm heartbeats of the council, of Tsunade.

And then it is over, Koharu moving away easily as if she didn’t mark Hinata her property, village property.

Hinata pants from where she is kneeling against cobblestone, the epicenter of the hatred her clan carries for the village. Tsunade steps forward, a green hand glowing to relieve Hinata’s headache, but Sakura pushes past her. Her hand runs gently through Hinata’s hair, and Hinata stares into the green pools blinking back tears. This is the third time Sakura has been there to heal her. She wonders how many more times she will need the medic-nin by her side to save her. 

“I’m sorry,” Sakura murmurs, her hand slowly relieving the chasm created in Hinata’s skull. “I’m so sorry, Hinata.”

She wants to say something, but her throat is dry and her mouth feels too heavy for her body. Instead, she shakily takes Sakura’s free hand, her movement slow and weak. She can barely do it, but she needs to convey how grateful she is, how important Sakura is to her.

She wonders what she looks like. The liberator of the Hyuuga, the war hero, the clan head of the Hyuuga, the byakugan princess, on her knees and barely able to stand because of her village. Her village that she protected, that she fought for, that she helped to save.

Sakura’s done healing her, but does not move away, and Hinata buries her face into the girls shoulder, tears unwilling to fall until Sakura wraps her arms around her. Hinata wants to sit here forever, in Sakura’s arms, and never have to face the village or her humiliation again.

Strong, familiar arms lift her up and carry her home, a sea of Hyuuga behind her.

***

In the mirror, the caged bird seal mocks her. It’s the same one she feared, but it’s different now, an Uzushio whirlpool in the center. She wonders if this is a technique they stole from Uzushio, or if it is a reminder that those with power will always be seen as threats to be destroyed.

She stares in the mirror and memorizes the prison on her forehead, but she does not cover it up. She knows what she did. She knows why she did it. She feels no shame, only anger.

***

“Did you know their plan?” Hinata asks.

“Once they made the announcement, yes,” Sakura replies. “It was that or execution, and I don’t think I could stand to see you dead.”

Hinata closes her eyes, breathing in deeply before opening them again. Sakura knew, and Sakura didn’t stop it, and maybe she’s being unfair, but Hinata can’t forgive her for it. The Hokage’s protégé, the one who could change her mind, the one who still stood by the Hokage’s side. Hinata wonders how Tsunade can be forgiven, can be followed, how the council still exists when they have watched generations of Hyuuga get sealed and done nothing. 

“I’m sorry,” Hinata says, pushing herself away from the cafe table they sit at, “I have to go.”

Sakura’s face seems to crack and she reaches an arm out, but when Hinata leaves, she does not chase after.

She wonders if everyone thought this was the better choice, having her sealed instead of having her dead. She wonders if anyone knew her well enough to fight for her to be executed instead of sealed. She wonders if anyone took her feelings into account, or if they all thought like Sakura had, and made the choice for her.

***

“We could always kill ya, y’know?” Kiba jokes, an arm around Hinata’s shoulder. “That way you don’t have to deal with that stupid seal.”

“We could kill the council,” Shino says.

“Yeah, yeah, what he said. A much better idea!”

Hinata smiles for what feels like the first time in forever and buries her face into Kiba’s neck, a hand holding tightly onto Shino’s own. “It already happened,” she says, “Why argue my death now when it should have been argued then.”

Kiba snorts. “We did argue it. We were like ‘Hey, Hokage-sama, please kill our best friend’ but she said, and I quote, ‘No.’”

“We’re sorry you were sealed,” Shino says, “I am happy you are alive, though I know that the seal is the worst of the two options.”

“I know you tried,” she says, “I’m grateful. I’m alive now, and this life is nothing special, but we might as well enjoy it.”

“Yes,” Shino murmurs, looking at her and truly seeing, “We might as well.”

When she kisses him and Kiba, it only feels natural. Her team has always known her best.

***

“I don’t want to force my leadership on you,” Hinata tells the crowd in the Hyuuga compound. “I am sealed, and I understand if you don’t want me to lead now that I am prisoner to the village.”

The crowd is silent, and then a voice calls out. “I want you to lead!” Another joins in, and then another, and another. She feels close to tears, but she stands tall.

“But I’m sealed,” she says, “I cannot defy the council or Konoha.”

“We will carry your anger and we will defy what you dislike. We will share the burden,” an elderly woman says. “You are our Hinata-hime, and you have brought in peace to the Hyuuga. We will follow you.”

Shino and Kiba stand beside her, and they squeeze her hand. “Thank you,” she says, unshed tears clogging her throat, “Thank you so much.”

For the first time in the history of the Hyuuga, a sealed member leads the clan, and Hinata fears for the future, but for today she has Kiba and Shino by her side. The Hyuuga are balanced, and Hinata still wishes Tsunade had not chosen to seal her, but she would do it again. She would do it all again if it meant her people got to this moment.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!!!!!!!!!!!


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